This is the second of a series of blogs by Geoff Harris on the STC! principles and TV writing. Before becoming a freelance writer/producer, Geoff was Vice President in charge of Story and Writer Development at NBC, where he worked for 12 years. He also has taught TV-writing intensive workshops for Native American and Latino writers, sponsored by ABC and NBC, as well as a Web Series writing class for MFA students at Cal State University, Los Angeles. Many of his workshop students have gone on to staff positions on TV shows, including Third Watch, Samantha Who? and Medium.
Character Counts!
Of course it’s good to be a great guy. To have moral and ethical strength. But for screenwriters, character counts even more — the main character, that is.
That notion is clear to anyone who’s ever opened a laptop in a neighborhood Starbucks. After all, the main character — and what he or she does — is your story.
As writers of any kind, the trick is getting the audience to like the main character. Even when he or she seems unlikable at the beginning of the film.
In Save the Cat!, Blake Snyder wrote: “Liking the person we go on a journey with is the single most important element in drawing us into the story.”
Blake uses Aladdin and Sea of Love as two examples of “save the cat” scenes depicting characters who, at first glance, might seem unlikable. But the STC! scenes provide a moment of insight into the characters that gets viewers to root for a thief and tough-as-nail police detective, respectively.
In Aladdin, Disney’s 1992 animated film, Aladdin steals a loaf of bread. But instead of eating it, he gives it away to two hungry street children and, in the next scene, saves one of them from being whipped by the evil vizier.
In the 1989 film, Sea of Love, Al Pacino plays a weary cop who shows compassion for a lawbreaker early in the film when that criminal arrives late for a sting, with his young son in hand. Instead of arresting him, Pacino flashes his badge and tells the criminal that he’s too late for the event.
So, the main character counts in movies and must prove to be likeable. But what about TV?
In TV, characters — not just the main character — are all vitally important. In TV, characters count!
The core characters of a TV show attract viewers. They’re invited into people’s homes on a weekly basis for 22 weeks or more. They become like family members.
If we saw Desperate Housewives actress Marcia Cross on the street, we’d probably call her “Bree.” If we saw a film actor, like Al Pacino, it’s the other way around. We’d say, “Hey, Al” or “Hey, Mr. Pacino.” Film actors are bigger than life. Celluloid titans. Out of reach, which is why they’re called “stars.”
What’s confusing for feature writers is that the TV characters — even the main character(s) — don’t go through typical character arcs. They don’t change much from the first episode to the last. Instead, there is a consistency to TV characters, and that’s what the viewers enjoy.
In his book Crafty TV Writing, Alex Epstein points out that “…by and large, whatever the characters of a sitcom learn by the end of the episode, they’ve forgotten by the beginning of the next episode.”
Sometimes a regular character’s amnesia borders on comical. Take super-bright FBI agent Scully on The X-Files. During the first four seasons, she sees some pretty weird stuff each week, but somehow can’t admit that the paranormal exists. But X-Files creator Chris Carter knew what he was doing.
Epstein explains: “We’re tuning in to The X-Files to see a show about a believer and a skeptic… Take that away, and you might lose your audience.”
So how is it that viewers were able to invite Tony Soprano into their living rooms? He was, after all, a mobster. A killer. Well, the show’s creator David Chase made him relatable and compelling. He was just like one of our neighbors, with some of the same concerns we have — only a little more deadly!
Chase also wrote a “save the cat” scene in the series pilot. The scene — a flashback during his first meeting with a female psychiatrist — showed Tony happily feeding wild ducks that landed in his backyard pool. It’s a small event, but it immediately gets viewers on his side.
Some TV writers borrow from their own family members when creating a new series.
“I based the lead character (lawyer Jane) on my grandmother — a short, overweight woman who had an amazing presence and didn’t let her outer appearance limit her or diminish her self esteem,” said Josh Berman, creator and showrunner of Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva. “I took the essence of that real life persona and turned it into a commercial, TV-friendly character.”
Ed Bernero, showrunner of CBS’ Criminal Minds and its spin-off Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, has his own theory on characters in ensemble dramas: “People only watch what feels familiar to them. They don’t really have a frame of reference for what an FBI Profiler or an Emergency Room doctor does, but they sure recognize the mother, father, sibling rivalries, the kid brother, the crazy uncle, the pretty cousin — tropes of everyone’s family. I think that, once they see those people in a drama, they can sit back and take the ride, whatever it is. You can clearly see it in successful drama if you look. It’s a simpler version of archetypal characterization.”
The bottom line for TV: Build credible characters. Make them relatable, believable, and real. That way, viewers can form an emotional attachment with them. And remember, include the “save the cat” scene, which works in both film and TV.
Characters Count. Creating characters may not be as easy as 1, 2, 3. But, in the end, it can pay off when you count the numbers on your paycheck.
Next week’s blog: The Social Network Beat Sheet
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Thanks for the amazing insight. I’ve noticed that the television shows I watch- are about subjects that intrigue me. And I only become a regular viewer if I find the main characters compelling.
Very true. And then there’s this testament too, to the power of characters. I’m currently watching “Lie to Me” and “Castle” pretty religiously, and I’ve always been one to turn my nose up at crime dramas. But Tim Roth’s portrayal of the crabby Cal Lightman and Nathan Fillion’s HILARIOUS delivery as the uber-loveable Rick Castle have got me tuning in every week, despite my dislike for the crime drama genre. Anyone else have similar experiences with irresistibly compelling characters?
My wife and I follow “Lie to Me”, “Criminal Minds”, “NCIS” and “Bones” because of the characters and their relationships. In each of those shows the group is a surrogate family. We used to like another show (she still follows it) but that one hasn’t stopped being about the science and not the people. That was fine for the first few seasons but then it got old.
Ah, like NUMBERS… so interesting…it wasn’t just crime solving…but the family dynamic…and they really developed the entire cast of characters…a total ensemble… really Loved that show and LEARNED so much about the practical use of Math that I used to be like “who’ll ever use this again?”…too bad they don’t make a show like that for kids…boy genius uses math to figure out where the missing cat is hiding… it could work!?